Chasing Darkness
by Fanfic220
Summary: "Carrington Institute's newest recruit, Owen Chase, works together with Joanna Dark to reveal the latest plot by the DataDyne Corporation, but when things go wrong, will Owen and Joanna be able to make it out with their lives?"
1. Chapter 1: Rain

**Author's Note:**

**This is only a sample of a story based off of Perfect Dark, depending on the type of reception I receive, I may scrap this or continue it. I'm not entirely sure yet, but as always, enjoy.**

**Chapter 1: "Rain"**

My hearing was almost indefinitely impaired by the heavy rain; although, there was nothing could do about it. My orders were to sit and wait for Joanna's signal. Whenever or whatever the signal was going to be, I didn't know. All I knew was that being the rookie was a tough business, especially being the rookie under someone as proud and haughty as Joanna Dark.

I stared through the barrel of my sniper rifle and scanned the surrounding area of my perch. I saw nothing, but surely there had to be something out here of extreme importance if Daniel Carrington had us out here so late. All I could say about Mr. Carrington was that he was an honest, and respectable business person, who also turned out to the head of a prestigious institute rightly named after his legacy. Although, unknown to the public was that the institute also trained secret agents.

I was nearly dozed off to sleep when my radio began to emit static. I quickly fumbled for it from my belt and tuned the signal,

"Owen Chase here, I read you, over," I spoke,

"And about time Mr. Chase, any longer and the mission would be jeopardized. On the south side of the building at the end of the block, there is an exchange going on. You remember those reports of the stolen confidential technology DataDyne wanted so bad? That is what those dealers have, and we have to get it from them," Joanna explained,

I set the radio down, and turned my sniper, attuned my scope, and rested,

"On my signal, I want you to kill the guy in the dark green vest holding the briefcase, Okay?"

I picked up the radio,

"Roger,"

I sat it back down and waited. Finally, the sound of bullets went off followed by a "Now!" blasting through the radio. I quickly lined my sights up, held my breath, and pulled the trigger. A loud boom sounded and the guy in the green vest dropped dead, I saw Joanna fly out around the corner and shoot the other two thugs dead. She waited for a moment, then signaled me to come down.

I picked up my sniper rifle and proceeded down from my perch to Joanna's location,

"Good shooting," she commented,

I only nodded,

"Check the bodies, look for anything else that would be helpful to the case,"

I checked the bodies while she dealt with the briefcase, I carefully patted down all three bodies when I came across a notepad,

"Joanna, look at this,"

She took it from me, opened it up, and flipped through the pages,

"This seems to be an address book, an excellent find Owen. The tech seems to be in tact, but we don't know who these thugs were or who they were working for, hopefully this book will point us in the right direction,"

She stood up, and flipped up her hood,

"Let's go. The rain is beginning to pick up,"

I stood up and followed her back to the institute. All I was happy about was that I was out of the cold and rain.


	2. Chapter 2: Frustration

**Author's Note:**

**I'm going to try to keep this going in hopes that you guys will like it, but again, the possibility of me scrapping this is still high. Thanks to everyone who has read it so far. Be sure to check out my other story, "A Hero Alone". See you later.**

**Chapter 2: "Frustration"**

After we got back from our mission, Joanna parted ways and returned to our dorm rooms. I reached mine, unlocked it, and went to take a shower right away.

I was only a rookie with a few months training, but the institute was suffering from a shortage of open field agents. I couldn't understand the true nature as to why this was so but I went along with it anyways.

Daniel Carrington, and even Joanna Dark repeatedly talked about the DataDyne Corporation as being our main competitor, yet again, this was something, as I rookie, I didn't understand. The DataDyne Corporation was a household name when it came to anything technical: Security Systems, Hover bots, Auto turrets, Elevator pads, you name it, they probably manufacture it. They also have a dark history of fraud, scams, and illegal business, and I assume that something in that long list of evil is what Carrington Institute despises. It could also be that the head of DataDyne, Cassandra De'vris used to go to business school with Daniel. I find it to the most plausible case.

I stepped out of the shower, dressed, and crawled into bed. I was out in a matter of minutes.

I awoke the next morning the buzzing of my alarm clock. I sleepily got out of bed. I went to my bathroom and splashed my face with water, which aided me greatly in waking up.

I changed into something more appropriate for outside ware, then left my room.

Joanna told that for every agent, after every mission, they're to report Mr. Carrington, so that was exactly what I did. I went down the hall and up the stairs to his office. I knocked on his door and I heard a voice call out,

"Come in!"

I opened the door and came in to find that Joanna had already beat me up here,

"You see sir, we have no potent leads, and the only piece of information is the single address in the notepad,"

I went in and sat down next to Joanna, across from Carrington,

"What's the address?" he asked,

"It's the address of the DataDyne HQ," she answered,

"That's no good, we already know the location of their HQ. The technology is secure, though, correct?"

Joanna nodded,

"Okay, I'll send the briefcase over to Foster for analysis, I'm going to make a few phone calls. You two hang tight until then,"

Joanna and I got up and left the office. After the door close, Joanna let out a grunt of anger,

"I don't get it! A planned exchange for sensitive, powerful technology, and they send a bunch of unqualified thugs to do the job. It's like they wanted us to get a hold of the tech!" she huffed,

"I don't get it either Jo, but all we can do know is sit and wait," I tried to relate some comfort to her,

"I can't wait, I'm not that type!" She huffed even more furiously,

"Just calm down Jo, it'll work out, but there's nothing you can about it right now,"

She just shook her head and pounded off. I stood their for a minute, sighing. I soon realized that a man was standing next to me,

"How did last night's mission go, Owen?" Jonathan Steinberg asked,

"Fairly well, considering nothing went wrong, but we didn't find anything that helped us out," I answered,

"How's Joanna taking it, she usually gets mad when things don't slide her way,"

"This would be one of those time, I suppose,"

"Well, best of luck to you two, Carrington has me flying for recon on the DataDyne HQ,"

"Yeah, you two, Jonathan,"


	3. Chapter 3: Sadness

**Author's Note:**

**Keeping it short, thank you to all those we are enjoying my stories. Expect to see Ch. 4 soon.**

**Chapter 3: "Sadness"**

It was a while before anything interesting happened. Jonathan came and went delivering his daily report of his recon, but after a while, he didn't return to the institute. Although this had Carrington nervous, he didn't take any immediate action.

Foster's analysis came back revealing the tech was actually a high power hacking device, which could easily knock out all kinds of security systems, or communication blocks. It was still uncertain how or why a bunch of low life thugs had their hands on such dangerous technology, but there was nothing we could do to figure it out, at least, not yet.

It was the third day since Jonathan hadn't returned and this had driven Joanna up the walls. I could tell she had patience issues. It was late in the day before Carrington finally gave in and issued the order for us to go after him.

Carrington had previously shut himself up in his office, doing what, I didn't have a clue. It wasn't my place to know, but when he did finally come out, Joanna was all over him, questioning him left and right. I guess that was what had made him give in.

I was at the base of the staircase leading to Carrington's office as I watched Joanna dash up the stairs, meet Carrington, and exchange words with him. I was thinking at the time, because Carrington had finally come out of his hiding, it had to be serious.

The two descended the stairs and walked right past me. I was slightly offended, but followed without the invitation. We proceeded down the hall to Foster's wing, where he also exchanged words with Carrington. The only thing I heard was,

"Play the audio clip,"

Foster went behind his desk and turned on the speakers. He pushed some buttons, then paused. The audio clip played,

"Agent Steinberg reporting, I have perfect visual on the DataDyne HQ, and it looks like things aren't in good condition right now, it seems as if the HQ is scrambling.

Oh no,"

There was static in the audio making inaudible, I could only stare at Joanna who had no expression on her face. Foster did some tampering, then brought the audio back up,

"Alert! The alarms at the HQ have been set off and this place is looking to be a war zone, I have no idea what's taking place right, but it isn't goo..."

The audio cut off for a split second to the sound of heavy machine gun fire, followed by the response of the gunfire of a Falcon 2, the standard agent firearm. The audio cut again, this time leading a long, uncomfortable pause. I felt heat, and heard nothing but silence. I looked at the faces of Carrington, then Foster, then Joanna, who looked like she was ready to break down. I frankly didn't know what to do so I just stood there. Eventually, the audio resumed,

There was a loud, bone-chilling groan,

"Agent... Steinberg... I've been... discovered, and taken... a bullet wound. They're... coming to get me..."

There was a heavy sigh,

"Joanna... leave... me... Trust... Carrington,"

The audio cut short,

There was nothing, no sound, no feeling, not anything. I was scared, I continuously looked back and forth between Carrington, Foster, and Joanna, but I saw nothing on their faces.

I was just a rookie, and I can say: I experienced the most bone-chilling thing I would ever remember.

Eventually, Carrington rose from the chair he was seated in,

"We pronounced him KIA three hours ago, we got this only four hours ago,"

I heard a whimper from Jo,

"I'm sorry Joanna,"

Carrington nodded to Foster, and walked out. Foster left the room as well, and I was left with Jo. She didn't move, she didn't speak, I could guarantee she wasn't breathing.

I quietly approached Jo, she didn't do anything. I looked at her face and saw tears roll down her from her eyes,

"Jo,"

Nothing,

"Jo,"

Still nothing. I didn't want to, but I left the room. I wasn't sure what else to do. Jonathan was a cool guys, he taught me a lot of things as being an agent, but I had to assume he was gone. Out of everyone there, I believe Joanna was the most affected, and with good reason. I think Joanna loved Jonathan.


	4. Chapter 4: Daring

**Author's Note:**

**Here is chapter 4! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: "Daring"**

I left the room leaving Joanna to cope by herself, I actually felt bad leaving her there by herself. I thought multiple times of going back to be there next to her, but always ended up talking myself out of it. I returned to my room, because I had nowhere else to go. It was very late that night, and I assume both Carrington and Foster went off to bed.

I entered my room, went into the bathroom, and stares at myself in the mirror. I hadn't realized it yet, but it turned out I was crying. I took the time to dry my tears, and wash my face off. It made me feel a lot better.

I left the bathroom and crawled into bed and just laid there. I couldn't go to sleep, not after what I listened to, not after seeing the emotion drained out of everyone in that room, not after watching Joanna Dark crying. I think it would be right to assume that none of us that were in that room got any sleep that night. No matter how hard I tried, my mind kept straying towards Joanna, how she must have felt. Before that, I truly didn't believe that Joanna could cry, but I was wrong.

It must have been hours before I saw a figure pass by my door. I got up and went to the door to look out. It was Joanna,

"Jo?"

She stopped, but didn't turn around,

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked,

"Go to sleep, Mr. Chase,"

Her voice was so deprived of hope, and love, and life that I choked a bit from sadness. She continued down the hall to her room. I went back inside my room and again crawled up into my bed, this time, I slept a little.

It felt like a flash before I woke up. It was now very early in the morning. I heard footsteps go past my door down the hall. I got up, and followed. It was again Joanna.

I followed her all the way to the armory, where she grabbed a Falcon and a AR34. I only grabbed a Falcon. I was starting to fear what she was doing. From the armory, she went all the way to the hanger and disappeared behind a hovercraft, then hopped in. She then started the craft up and was getting ready to fly off. I ran out to the craft and had to force myself to yell to get my voice over the deafening buzz of the vehicle,

"Joanna! What on this earth do you think your doing?"

She looked down at me from the driver's seat,

"Owen, I told you to go back to sleep. Don't worry about what I'm doing,"

"That's it! I am worried about what you're going to do. If Carrington finds out about this, Jonathan isn't going to be the only one dead,"

This set her off,

"How do you speak about him like that. I don't care what Carrington is going to do, I'm going after Jonathan whether you like it or not!"

I had no choice,

"Fine! I'm going with you!"

I ran around the craft and got in, made my way to the deck and sat next to Joanna,

"Are you sure about this, Jo?"

"I am,"

"Good God, have mercy on me!"

Joanna piloted the hovercraft right out of the hanger. The last thing I saw of the hanger was multiple Institute personnel dashing into the hanger bay. There was no going back now.


	5. Chapter 5: Infiltration

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, hope you're enjoying the story so far, be sure to favorite, follow, and review! Thanks!**

**Chapter 5: "Infiltration"**

We flew right to the DataDyne HQ and Joanna landed the hovercraft about a block or two away behind a line of fence. She turned the craft off, grabbed her weapons, and got out. I did the same. Joanna walked all the way there without a thought. I had to jog a little to keep her from leaving me behind. We reached the outer plaza in front of the HQ. We both ducked down and carefully made our way to the door. We stopped behind a lamp-post,

"Did you even bother to come up with a plan?" I inquired,

"No, but I'm sure I can figure something out," she replied,

"God, I knew this was a bad idea!" I cried,

"Oh, pipe down. Your here now, so you might as well make the best of it. Now, come on,"

We left our hiding and proceeded our way into the building. The first floor was a large, carpeted area covered with receptionists' desks. The place was fairly busy which made it easy to blend in.

Joanna reached into her back pocket and pulled out a shiny, grey card that looked to have contact information on it, then handed it to me,

"Where'd you get that?" I asked,

"Never mind that. I'm too well-known to DataDyne, so your going to have to do the acting for us both,"

"Why me? I'm just a rookie," I cried again, feeling like I was being put to an unnecessary test, which I was,

"Stop your whining, I just told why you're doing the acting, besides, rookies need field experience and now is the perfect time to prove it,"

"Oh dear God," I groaned,

"I said to stop that, now go!"

She pushed me forward and by my luck, I landed right in front of a receptionist desk and knocked into it. I was greeted by a rather surprised woman who happened to give a strange look, but she soon shook it off and ran through basic routine,

"Good evening sir, how can I help you?" she asked suspiciously,

"Oh, I'd like access to the upper floors," I said, trying to hide my nervousness.

She gave me a puzzled expression,

"Do you have any sort of identification?"

"Oh, yes, I do, right here," I said as I laid down the card in front of her.

She picked it up and examined it,

"Yeah, just give me a minute to run this through the system," she followed.

She walked off out of view which left me standing there by myself. I turned around to see if I could spot Joanna, but I couldn't find her. The only thing that meet my eye was a long line of impatient clients who all gave me dirty looks.

It set me on edge a bit. Finally, the woman returned with my card,

"Your free to head up where you need to go, just don't go somewhere you don't belong,"

"Right,"

With that, I turned and headed back into the crowd to find Joanna, but was unable to find her. I began to head toward the elevator when I literally found myself flying in the air,

"Did you get us in," a voice came from behind me,

"Lord! Jo, don't do that," I pleaded,

"Did you get us access, yes or no?" She repeated,

"Yes, here, we just use the card from now on,"

"Where did you go?" I asked,

"That's not important right now," she avoided,

"Bloody Jo, your always doing things like this to me,"

"Oh, just come on,"


	6. Chapter 6: Location

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Be sure to check out my other story and as always, favorite, follow, and review!**

**Chapter 6: "Location"**

We made our way past the receptionist's desk and into the elevator. Joanna pushed the button to the second floor. I had only one question for her,

"Do you even know where Jonathan is?"

She blinked,

"No,"

"So you don't even know if he's here?"

"No,"

"So this could be a waste of time! God Jo! This is what happens when you go on a rage!"

She scoffed,

"It wasn't a rage, it was me taking immediate action when the situation called for it. Jonathan has to be here because this was where he was discovered, and for God's sake Owen, if you thought all this was a waste of time, why'd you come?"

I sighed,

"I came because I didn't want you doing something stupid,"

Her voice began to raise,

"Stupid? I am a trained, professional agent, not some low ranking rookie, besides I don't think I need to be told advice from someone as inexperienced as you!"

There was silence, then Joanna bowed her head,

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm a little on edge right now. I know your trying to help anyway you can, and I appreciate that. I had no right to go on a fit over you like that,"

I breathed in slowly,

"It's okay Jo,"

As I spoke those words, the elevator doors opened revealing two men in suits. They greeted us, then allowed us to step off. Jo motioned me to follow her, and we made our way down the hall to then end, which housed an empty office,

"Ha, just like it was before,"

I rolled my neck as Joanna began to rummage through the drawers of the desk, pulling out papers. I truly had no idea what she could be looking for, but I went along with it anyways. I stepped outside of the office just to be sure no one came down the hall towards. I waited a couple of minutes, waiting for Joanna,

"Jo, what are you doing in there?" I asked,

"Looking for something," she responded,

I peered inside the office,

"How long does it take?"

She stopped to look up at me,

"As long as it will take, will you be patient?" She scolded,

I continued my watch down the hall before I finally pulled put my standard issue agent PDA and started to play around on it. A few minutes past when I was startled by the sound of footsteps down the hall. I knocked on the door to the office Joanna was in and she stopped. I tried to avoid suspicion by continuing toying with my PDA when a DataDyne security guard came around the corner. It took a moment before he realized was there,

"Hey!" he called,

My heart skipped a beat,

"No soliciting during business hours, if you want to stand around and do nothing, go back down stairs,"

I fished for words,

"Uh, sorry sir, I didn't mean any harm,"

He grinned,

"Well, they all say that, so I'll let you off with a warning: Do something productive or get out,"

"Yes sir,"

With that, he went off back down the hall, I was hoping for good. When the sounds of his footprints became inaudible, I heard a heavy from inside the office,

"Bugger, that was close,"

"Your telling me," I responded,

A few more minutes passed when I finally heard Joanna,

"I've got it!"

"Got what?" I asked,

"The document telling where their holding Jonathan,"

I was shocked,

"How in God's name did you find that in there?"

She walked out of the office with a flair,

"A girl has her ways," she flirted,

I let out a sigh of somewhat disappointment,

"Whatever, where is he?"

She scanned over the sheet of paper,

"He's on the thirty-eighth floor,"

"Okay?"

"However, the elevator only reaches the thirty-fifth, which means we'll have to take the stairs up the remaining floors,"

"And?"

"And we'll end up having to deal with some guards,"

"Good Lord," I sighed,

"What? You didn't expect this to be easy did you?"

"No,"

"Well, stop complaining,"

We left down the hall to the elevators and proceeded all the way up to the thirty-fifth floor, making an occasional stop to let on and let off different passengers. I knew for a fact that every time the door opened, I got scared a little. I didn't know if was just because this was one of my first missions, and it being even more of a burden that it was my first covert mission.

When the elevator neared our destination, we were lucky to have no one on board. Joanna pulled out and cocked her silenced Falcon 2. I stared at her like she was mad for a moment, then gave in and followed suit.

I listened as the elevator slowed down to meet our desired floor, and when the door opened, I was met with a change of decor, and a surprise that made me jump.


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, sorry it has been forever since my last post, but I've been on a much needed vacation. Anyhow, expect to see the next chapter of Hero Alone and see you later!**

**Chapter 7: "Rescue"**

The minute the door slid open, a loud bang shot past my ear, leaving it in a deafened state. Following the blast was a loud drop caused by the now dead body of a DataDyne guard. I was slightly in shock, I knew that I couldn't have done it, so it left only Joanna as the culprit,

"Joanna!" I yelped.

She quickly covered my mouth with her glove-covered hand and silenced me. She ran out of the elevator and around the corner which ultimately was followed by the echo of more rounds being fired. I dashed right around the corner to find two dead guards collapsed on the floor,

"Jo! Why are you killing them?" I asked,

"Because, if I don't, this mission will take forever," she responded,

"You'd go around these floors gunning down helpless guards just to make this mission go by faster?" I questioned,

"No, no. It's not like that! Well, maybe, but not entirely."

She took a minute to compose herself,

"It's like this: We're near the floor where they're holding Jonathan, so they're more likely to open fire on sight. Besides, regardless whether or not these guards are innocent, Jonathan is in danger and we need speed to rescue him. Understand?" She explained,

"Yeah, I guess that does make sense. I'm still against it though,"

She gave a thumbs up then flew down the hallway. I followed her.

We made our way through the side rooms, silently taking out the guards and moving closer to the next staircase that would bring us to Jonathan. I watched in a somewhat awed state as Joanna gracefully and masterfully disposed of the guards. I had finally learned why they called her Perfect Dark.

We had reached the final staircase which brought us to the same level as Joanna had said he was. When we reached the top of the stairs, I felt a strange feeling, like time had halted in it's tracks, but I couldn't understand why I felt that way. I followed closely behind Jo as we went room to room looking for where Jonathan was being held. We reached the final room on the floor, where Joanna stopped me and signaled for me to listen. Inside I could here the voice what whom I believed was an interrogator. I,was contemplating what to do next, but Jo had that all planned out.

She signaled me to, when she opened the door, make my way to the far side of the room and lay down covering fire for her, if need be, while she went for Jonathan. I nodded and held my breath. She slowly began to move to the door and opened it. I peeked inside and saw a large, extremely tall man in a white trench coat surrounded by two women holding shotguns. I stretched my vision as far as I could, where I got a glance at Jonathan.

I immediately relayed my finding through a series of signs that the Institute taught its agents. She nodded, then proceeded in. I followed after a few moments. We made our way around by hiding behind a series of large, metal crates. Jo and I listened in,

"Where is the institute, Mr. Steinberg," a female voice questioned,

"You won't get that out of me," he responded,

"Mr. Steinberg, we've been at this for half a hour now, I don't want to use force,"

"Weak!" He called,

The man in the white coat slapped Jonathan right across the face, then he questioned Jonathan,

"Steinberg. I know for a fact that agent Dark is on her way to save you. I'm looking forward to that. Tell me where the institute is or I'll guarantee that you die right in front of her," he threatened,

"No, Joanna and I took the same oath, never give in, never give up,"

"Very well then," he said plainly,

The man nodded to the women standing next to him, then left the room. The women began to beat up and torture Jonathan. Joanna signaled me, counted down from three on her fingers, then without a thought, we both popped up and blasted the women dead. Jonathan looked surprised an relieved at the same time,

"Jo, Owen!" He cried,

Joanna ran over to him and began hugging him. I went behind him and began to untie him,

"Oh Jonathan. I was so afraid you were dead,"

"I almost thought I was a goner too. Get me outta here would you?"

"One moment!" I pleaded.

I finally unraveled the ropes around Jonathan. He stood up and immediately began to stretch out.

"Do you have an escape plan?" He asked,

"We do have a hovercraft we came in," I said

Joanna took a moment,

"No, it would probably have been discovered by now,"

She sighed,

"Come on, we'll figure something out,"

"It better be before we're discovered," Jonathan said,

We snuck right out of the interrogation room and headed for the top floor. Joanna tried multiple times to contact Carrington Institute to order a hovercraft to fetch us, but she wasn't able to get a response,

"Bugger, DataDyne must have a communication jammer active,"

Jonathan looked up from the floor,

"I guess that would mean we have to go disable it,"

Joanna stared at Jonathan widely,

"No, you can't go. We got you out of capture, we can't risk you getting in the same predicament,"

"I'll go," I volunteered,

Both Jo and Jonathan stopped dead in their tracks,

"I don't think I could ask you to do that, Owen," Joanna replied,

"I can! I just need to know where it is,"

"It's on the third floor on the far left, but you'll need a special key to get in," Jonathan informed,

"Okay, where do I get that?" I asked,

Jonathan reached into his hidden pocket located in his boot,

"Right here,"

He gave me the card. It was yellow with a series of numbers running across the front,

"We'll wait for you up top, don't take too long," Joanna said,

"Right," I responded.

I headed away from Jonathan and Joanna towards my destination. I was somewhat afraid to be going by myself.


	8. Chapter 8: Suspense

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, enjoy chapter 7 and be sure to check out my other works. As always, review, favorite, follow, and enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: "Suspense"**

I was slightly annoyed that, after making it all the way up to Jonathan, we couldn't have just bailed. There was always something in the way. I knew that the guards would soon enough be flooding the elevators to search for us, so I took the stairs, which wasn't fun, especially when you're starting on the thirty-eighth floor going all the way to the third floor. I finally made my stand against walking all the way there, so I did something a little more creative: I hooked up my grappling system and grappled from my current floor as far as my cord would extend. I grappled down the thin gap that separated the window from the staircase. I was lucky enough that, even though I saw guards patrolling the staircase, they didn't see me. It could have been my speed or the fact that my grappling system utilized Foster's thinest and lightweight cable wire.

I repeated my grappling process at least three times before I finally reached the door to the third floor. I got my footing on the staircase and detached the hook from the top. I watched as it fell all the way down past me, then dropped to the bottom floor, echoing a loud clank of metal throughout the stairwell. What I didn't expect was that it would attract the attention of the guards. I hurriedly reeled in my grappling hook as screams chased me and commanded to stop. Finally putting away my hook, I foolishly slammed right into the door, while trying to open it. I had forgotten that it required a keycard for entrance, so I fumbled for the card Jonathan had bestowed to me. As I finally sliced the card through the slot, I jumped at the sound of bullets whizzing past me and slamming into the wall. The guards were firing at me, and the CMP150 as the standard issue, they were a force to be reckoned with.

I shoved the door open and shut it tight behind me. I was expecting to enter in and end up a worse situation, but I was lucky to find the floor hallway empty. I clocked my Falcon 2 and tightened the silencer, I proceeded down the hallway, going from room to room in search of any type of panel that would hopefully be the communications array.

I reached the back end of the hallway which lead me with three rooms left to check out. I had only taken three steps when I heard a door slide open. It was the far one, so I slid open the closest door and entered in without a second though. I slid the door closed, hiding me from the other guards coming out of the far room. I heard a voice speak out from behind me,

"Who are you?"

At this, I spun around to see a guard behind a control panel which my best guess was to believe it was the communications array I was hoping for,

"Ah, me? Nothing, just dropped in to say hello,"

He laughed then aloofly lifted up his weapon,

"That's funny. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

I sighed,

"Well, fine. You see that panel?"

He looked down then shifted back to me,

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well," I angled my gun behind my back, "I need to use it so,"

I pulled the trigger on my gun and watched in awe as the bullet flashed without a sound and surpassed even the notice of the guard. The bullet skillfully ricocheted off the metal beam separating the two windows facing outside the building and nailed the guard straight in the head. I was in shock, I couldn't believe that I was able to perform that kind of feat, and had no explanation but pure luck.

After I recovered, I ran over and started searching through different files on the computer and found the link to the communications. I implanted an EMP mine into the system which lead the computer to respond with a firewall. With some cleaver hacking, I was able to override the firewall which allowed the mine to work it's magic. The system ultimately responded with a message saying the implant was successful. Some thing else to heighten my joy even more was that I got a response from Joanna,

"Bloody good work, Owen. Now get your tail up here so we-"

She was interrupted by the blaring sound of the alarms. My little implant was discovered,

"Bugger! Owen, get up here. Asap!"

That's exactly what I did, I hightailed it out of that room up and grappled my way up as far as I could climb. I dashed up the foyer, where I heard the shouts of Joanna and Jonathan. I dashed out onto the roof and up to the landing pad. I met up with Jonathan and Joanna,

"God, your okay Owen," She greeted,

"Good work," Jonathan followed,

"It was a little on the tense side, but I did it. Where's our pickup?"

They looked at each other,

"They'll arrive in thirty," She explained,

I slapped my forehead,

"So we're sitting ducks until then?"

"Looks like it," Jonathan commented,

"What about the guards? The alarms?"

"Taken care of. We found these,"

Jo held up dual dragons,

"Alright then,"

I proceeded to sit down and stare down at the doorway that led out to the roof. The only exit and entrance from the roof. I stared at nothing for a good while when I started to see guards pile up, they didn't come out, but I could see them through the bared windows,

"Joanna," I called out,

"Jonathan, take this!"

She threw him a dragon, then threw me the other. She mounted up the AR34 she brought along. The radio in Jo's back pocket lit up, emitted static, then introduced the voice of Carrington,

"Joanna! Your pickup will be there in ten minute! Hold out!"

Jo slid the radio right out of her back pocket then screamed into the mic,

"That's too slow! We'll be dead in eight!"

Carrington didn't respond. I stared in suspense as the number of guards soared past twenty personnel. What eventually caught my eye was a pillar of white, ever so slowly, made it's way to the front. Eventually, the figure made it and walked out onto the roof, not even taking into consideration of the weapons we had. When he finally came into view, the figure was revealed. I didn't know who he was, but Jonathan tightened his grip on his dragon and Joanna lowered her AR34 in a horrified look.


	9. Chapter 9: Return

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, just to let you all know, I'm currently seeking a beta reader for my work, PM for details. As always, review, favorite, follow, and enjoy. Thanks.**

**Chapter 9: "Return"**

"Your dead! Your race is dead! This isn't possible!" Joanna screamed,

The man in white rolled his neck,

"You underestimated my power Agent Dark,"

"I haven't had that luxury yet," Jonathan said sarcastically,

The guards behind the man in white began to spread out and surround us. Joanna had raised her AR34 up again, and Jonathan kept a firm grip on his Dragon. I only stood behind and watched. A rather noticeable smile had come to the man's face,

"It's clear at this point that you won't be going anywhere, besides, if you do, I'll have you all shot. So, why don't come down from there and come inside. I'll guarantee you'll get Datadyne's quality hospitality,"

Jonathan laughed,

"Top notch quality to be exact,"

Joanna shook her head,

"We're not doing anything you say. I want to know how your alive before I do anything that involves you,"

The man buttoned up his coat,

"Your incredibly incompetent for sporting the greatest agent at the Institute Agent

Dark. Besides, my story of how I'm here is probably too long for your taste. I wouldn't want to bore you to death,"

Joanna was getting frustrated,

"I've told you once already that I'm not listening to a word you say until I get answers,"

The man only sighed,

"Maybe if you would come inside with me, I might be inclined to tell you it,"

She said only one word,

"No,"

The haughty atmosphere around the man died and in its place was annoyance,

"I guess you leave me no choice then. Goodbye Agent Dark,"

The man turned and walked through the crowd of guards and the whole crowd aimed their guns at us, preparing to fire. I heard Jo whispering a prayer. The last words of the man echoed from the back of the crowd,

"Kill them,"

The guards opened fire on us, and I dropped to the floor. The guars were met by the brute force of our heavier weapons. The guards began to make an advance towards us, but we were protected by a massive airship that was laying down suppressive fire on the guards. Jo got up and ran for the ship, and Jonathan followed. It was only suiting that I did the same.

Joanna made the jump from the platform to the ship, and so did Jonathan. I charged up my sprint and jumped, but I was tripped up by a stray bullet. Only my first half of my body had made it on the ship, the other ship was dangling off the side. I scratched the best I could to keep on, but I was sliding off. I was eventually caught by Joanna, who assisted me in getting up. I out of breath from that close call and only sat on the floor against one of the walls of the ships,

"Good Lord, that was a close call," Jonathan remarked,

Jo was only trying to take it all in,

"I can't believe it. He can't be alive. It's not right!" She bantered,

I looked up,

"Who was that freak?"

She stared at the floor,

"He goes by the name of Mr. Blonde. He's, well, an alien,"

"I looked surprised,

"An alien?"

Jonathan put his hand on my shoulder,

"Ah, don't worry. I've had my fair share of aliens too bud,"

I was confused. I couldn't convince myself that the 'man' back there was an alien.

The airship took us all the way back to the Institute, where Joanna and I were greeted by an armed group CI troopers with orders to place us under house arrest. I didn't see why that needed to be, but I just followed procedure. Joanna, on the other hand, didn't take her time out so well. She continuously fought with the men all the way up to Carrington's office. I hoped and prayed he wouldn't wring us alive.

Joanna, Jonathan, and I all filed into his office. I was surprised he had set out three chairs instead of only two. As I far as I knew, no one had told him that Jonathan was safe.

Carrington paid no attention to us as we filed in and sat down. He just kept typing away. I had the assumption that he was ignoring us on purpose, but for what purpose I didn't know. Time passed before anything happened, so eventually both Jonathan and I stared around the room. Apparently, neither of us got to be in here a lot. Joanna only stared at the floor. Out of nowhere, Carrington spoke,

"Well, what do you think?"

All of our attention was set on him. Joanna was confused,

"Excuse me sir?"

He turned to us,

"Well, what do you think? Two agents sneak off in the of the night and partake a mission which was unauthorized by their higher power,"

Joanna looked down at the floor again,

"I'm sorry sir,"

Carrington let out a sigh,

"Well, I'm sorry too. Not sure what for yet, but I am sorry,"

He crossed his hands,

"Really what I should do is reward you both with medals, then have you expelled for good, but luckily for you, Jonathan is alive and here,"

Joanna looked up relieved,

"That doesn't mean your off the hook quite yet though,"

We all let out a sigh,

"Jo, I want a full report put in tomorrow, and I want you all back up here in the morning, alright?"

We all nodded, then left. We split off our separate ways and headed to our dorms. I was entirely grateful to alive and well in my comfy bed; I was out like a lightbulb.


	10. Chapter 10: Intel

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, I've noticed this story is receiving extremely poor reception. I hope that the more chapters I tack onto this, the more interest that'll be pulled to it. Thanks to everyone who have read it so far.

Chapter 10: "Intel"

The next morning was a terrible wakeup call for me, and it didn't help that the night itself wasn't any better, but I got up grudgingly and went to take a shower. I got out, got dressed, and carrying an apple, went out to the hallway. It was completely silent, nothing but the noise of a clock on the wall ticking away. Last's night's events were a blur to me for the most part, but luckily I remember some of the more important details. Although, I still wasn't convinced that the man in white was somehow an extraterrestrial from space, but I couldn't disprove it in any way.

My thoughts were interrupted by the chiming of the clock on the wall, so I proceeded down the hall past the dorms near the staircase up to Carrington's office, but I was stopped by Joanna, who was leaning against a wall,

"I wouldn't go up there right now. He's talking with Jonathan,"

I looked at her,

"Oh, alright,"

She straightened up off the wall and took a few steps towards,

"Hey, I want to thank you for last night. You handled everything rather well for a rookie,"

I only stared at her. She shook her head,

"I'm sorry. I'm just so used to ranks for people. It's how it's always been for me, but you're better then just a rookie."

I grinned,

"It's no problem Jo, I mean do you have your own reputation to uphold,"

She gave me a devilish look,

"You don't get the title 'Perfect Dark' for doing paperwork you know. Anyways, that's not what I meant."

The sound of the sliding wood door echoed downstairs to us. Jonathan flew down the stairs and greeted Jo and I,

"Alright, I'm finished with him. He wants you two now,"

Joanna and I nodded then dashed upstairs. Joanna suddenly stopped short of the door and looked at me, then stared directly at the door and opened it. Inside, Carrington was once again enveloped in his computer and was typing almost at the speed of light. It was actually surprisingly interesting to watch.

We filed into his office and seated ourselves in front of his desk and waited. It was a couple of minutes before he spoke out of nowhere and spooked both Jo and I,

"Well Joanna, I've read the report you had publishes on last night's excursions and with the info that Jonathan has told me combined with intel acquired by one of our field agents, we have discovered one thing: Mr. Blonde is hosting a meeting in the G5 Building later this week. Of course, I can already tell this is going to be a trap, I'm going to send you back to Chicago along with Owen."

She looked confused,

"Sir, why would Mr. Blonde to back there if he knows I breached it last time,"

Carrington looked up,

"Like I said, it'a probably a trap. Anyway, if Mr. Blonde survived the prior events, it's almost guaranteed that others have survived as well. So, we'll need to call in some old friends again,"

She lit up dramatically,

"Elvis!"

I looked confused, but Carrington didn't notice,

"Yes. I'm not sure whether or not the Maians are aware of the fact that Mr. Blonde has returned, and if not, it is absolutely vital they know,"

Joanna nodded,

"Yes sir. I suppose you want me to follow the same plan I did last time breaking in?"

He was deep in thought,

"Hopefully, but if there is a trap set for you, we'll have to mix things up. Foster had some ideas about that. He'll brief you on how things are going to go down. You two are dismissed,"

We nodded and headed to the door when Carrington spoke up one last time,

"Joanna,"

She turned back,

"Yes sir?"

He rolled his chair to the edge of his desk,

"Next time, tell me when you're going to run off like that,"

She threw him a thumbs up and left the room. I followed,

"So Jo, you still haven't told me all about this alien business,"

She looked at me,

"Oh, I guess'll need to know at some point. A few years back, there was a war going on between two alien races: the Maians and the Skedar. Well, the Skedar tried to blow up the Earth using help from Datadyne, but with the help of the Maians, we stopped them. I was sent to the Skedar home world to kill the kings, and succeeded, but it seems a few Skedar managed to escape and hide,"

It still seemed outlandish, but I went for it anyways. We took off for Foster's wing for briefing.


End file.
